Journalists jailed for covering protest in Somaliland

Police arrested four
journalists on December 3, 2013, and detained them for nearly a week for
covering a peaceful protest in the capital of the semi-autonomous republic of
Somaliland, according to local journalists and human rights organizations.

Police arrested
Saed Khadar, head of news for the private Bulsho TV; Abdisalan Abdirashid, a
reporter for the station; Hassan Maal, a cameraman for Universal TV; and
Abdiaziz Bashir, a reporter for the news website Hadhwanaag. The journalists
were held at the Central Police Station in Hargeisa on charges
of holding an illegal protest, the same sources said.

On December 5, 2013,
the Hargeisa Regional Court remanded the four journalists to prison to allow
the police more time for investigations, the Somaliland-based Human Rights
Centre reported.

Police also beat and
confiscated the camera of Foore newspaper
reporter Abdirashid Sheikh Abdiwahaab who had taken photographs in the Hargeisa
courtroom, local journalists told CPJ. Abdirashid did not sustain any serious
injuries and the camera was returned after the court proceedings. The journalists
were released on bail on December 9, 2013. A court date was pending.

The protest,
which had been staged by journalists, was in connection with the release of a
police officer alleged to have attacked the Hargeisa offices of the independent
Hubaal newspaper on April 24, 2013, local
journalists told CPJ.

Two masked gunmen
had raided
the paper's offices and fired at Mohamed Ahmed Jama, the paper's manager, according
to the former chairman of the board of Hubaal
Media Network. Mohamed's arm and finger was broken, and he and other
employees subdued one of the gunmen, local journalists told CPJ. The other
gunman escaped.

The gunman was recognized
by a government official as a police officer, according to news reports, but was
released in December without charge. Hubaal journalists said they
suspected the attack was in connection with a series of articles critical of
the administration of Somaliland President Ahmed M. Mahmoud.